Improvement in permutation-locks



tama (stang LUKE H. MILLER, OF ALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Letters Patent No. 107,190, dated September 6, 1870.

HOW-

IMPROVEMENT IN PERMITTATION-LOCKS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

I, LUKE H. MILLER, of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented a new and. useful Improvement 1u Locks, of which the following is a specificav tion.

Nature ana Objects 0f thc Invention..

One part ot' my improvement consists of an arrangement by which one key or shaft is made to operate either or all ot' two or more locks, separately or together.

Another part of my improvement consists of au arrangement by which the tence is operated and anplied,

The fence is hinged to a moving arm, and snspendcd by its hook when the arm is pushedback, and is lowered into position to try the tumblers at certain times, not resting upon them all the time.

When the proper time arrives for thc fence to drop, it-.is pushed forward by a dog, and falls into the gates ot the tnmblers. It then becomes the means of moving the bolt.

Description of thc Accompanying Drawing.

Figure 1Vis a Vertical section on the liuc y y, iig. 2.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line Av r, fig. 1. f

Figure 3 isa vertical section on the line s z, fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a section on the line w zc, iig, 1.

Figure 5 is a section on the line x x, iig. l.

The arrows in thc vicinity ofthe sect-ion lines show the direction of' vision.

General Description.

lhe illustration shows two-locks, arranged to be operated singly' or coincidentally by a single knobspindle.

A A are the plates oi the lock, and

B B are the bolts.

C is thc knob, and

1), the spindlc'by which the bolts are operated.

On the spindle D is a short spline, feather, or tooth, d, which has a length equal to the thickness of one ot' the parallel wheels E E.

Ot' these wheels'the former 1') engages with the wheel F, which works the mechanism oi' the upper lock, and the latter E works the mechanism ot' the lower lock.

The spindle D has three adjustments. It is capable ot' being arranged to work the upper lock only, to work the lower lock only, or to work the two locks simultaneously.

I mayfherc mention that the device which Iam now describing may he extended to operate more than allow the door-bolt to be retracted.

two locks, but I will continue to describe it as applicable to two, as it is within the skill of a workman t'o extend the arrangement to suit a greater number, and

`I desire to make the description as plain as possible.

To resume: The slide H is capable ot' vertical motion in a slot at the rear of the escutcheon I, and, when in workingposition, enters one or another of the circular grooves-c cl c2in the periphery of the spindle D, (sce lig. 5.).

lVheu the slide-gate H is raised, the spindle D may be drawn out or pushed in to such an extent as to bring either of the three grooves c c c2 beneath the slide, and, thelatter being dropped into` the one desired, the spindle is held to a certain longitudinal -adjustmcnt thereby.

lVhen the spindle is thrust in to the full extent, (as shown in tig. 5,) and the gate H dropped into the outer notch c, the tooth or short spline occupies a keyseat in the wheel E, and the last-mentioned wheel is operated by the motion of the knob C and spindle D. In this position ot' the spindle the upper lock only is actuated by the movement ot' the spindle.

y When the gate H is lifted and thc spindle D drawn outward to its full extent, the gate H may be dropped into thc inmost ot' the three grooves, c2, and then the tooth l will be entirely within the key-scat of the cog-wheel-E. In this position of t-he spindle D the wheel G is moved and the lower lock is actuated.

When the adjustment is varied, so that the gate -H occupies the middle groove c1 of t-he spindle, the tooth or spline d is partly within the key-ways of each ot' the wheels E E', and thc motion of the spindleis communicated, through the said whccls,.to the wheels 11 andG, so as to operate the upper and lower locks si'- multaneonsly.

By means of this arrangement either one of the locks may be used and the other disused, or they may be locked separately, on different combinations, and

opened separately, by different parties, who mayeach be unaware of the other combination, or they may be operated together on one con'ibination.

I may mention that the lock illustrated is specilically intended for a check-lock, but maybe used for operating a safe or other door-boit, it' desired. By check-lock I mean one which is so applied to the door as to hold tbedoor-bolts.

The bolts of the check-lock .do not themselves hold the' door, but are the means of detaining the bolts that do. A

This arrangement may be utilized in such -a manner that the unlocking of either of two locks will release the door-bolt, so that, it one lock should get ont ot' order, the withdrawal of the bolt'of the other will By my invention either of the locks is moved by the same knob and spindle, avoiding the duplication of vthe parts which penetrate the door-casing.

I have referred to the action of the spindle upon the wheels F G, either separately or sinniltaneously, and I will describe the mode in which the said wheels are made effective in operating the respective locks. As the action of the wheel IF, in operating the upper lock, -is exactly similar to that of the wheel G in operating thelower lock, the description of one will sut`- fice for the two.

The wheel G acts upon a cog-wheel, J, on a stem, g, and the last-mentioned wheel acts upon another one, K, shown by dotted lines in tig. 1.

This wheel K is fast to a circular-gated plate, L, and rotates the latter.

The rotation of the plate L, when the fenccM falls into the gate, is the means whereby the bolt is moved in unlocking.

The fence M falls by gravitation, when free to do so, and is raised by the contact of the circular plate L.

It is pivoted to the end of the arm N, which is thrown upward, in the direction of the arrow, by means ot' the spring u, so that the back-hook-0f the fence M shall hook onto the prong m of the plate A.

. In the boxes II is a set of gated tumblers, p p p p, which slip upon the4 stem l, and are actuated in the way usual in permutation-locks.

The gated plate L 4has a stud, l, which protrudcs through a guard-plate, l, and reaches toa pin on the adjacent side of the firsttumblerwheel 1).

' On thcvother side ot` the tumbler-wheel is another pin, which acts upon the next tumbler whcel in series, and so on.

Q is the cap-plate, which covers in the chamber.

Between the adjacent tumbler-wheels are washers, to preserve relative distance.

The edges of the nests of tumblers are shown inV lig. 4. In this view the tumblers of the upper lock are shown in section, and in the lower lock are shown in' elevation.

In fig. 3 the tumbler 1) is shown in broadside view.

In the boit I ot' the lower lock t-he guard-plate Z1 is shown in broadside view, the gate l and a long notch, l, being visible. d

.The gate is to be occupied bythe felice M. The

,longer notch is to allow a certain play ot' the pin l in operating the guard-plate, as will be more speciallydescribed when speaking of the operation.

S is a dog, pivoted to plate A, and operated by a pin, k, on the cog-wheel J, to push forward the fence M, so as to free it from the prong m, once at each revolution of the wheel L, in order to try whether the gates of the wheel L and of the tumblers 1 p p p are in position to receive the fence.

T is a cam on the wheel-J. Its purpose is to shoot the bolt B by pressure against the pin V.

lV is a pin on the arm N. Its duty is to communicate the motion of the fence M and armN to the bolt B in opening. jFor this purpose it occupies a notch in `the said bolt.

The tumblers p' have a peculiar arrangement for giving them their set bythe series of numbers, so that the lock may be locked on a systematic series, which must be regarded in the act of unlocking, vor the felice cannot fall into the gates of' the tumblers, a failure which would prevent the unlocking.

As usual in gated-tumbler locks, it is necessary that each tumbler should be exactly adjusted, so that the gates should` range in line to receive the fence.

The tumbler p has on itsV face a series ot' cogs, the spaces between which are numbered, as shown in tig. 3.

There are, say, one hundred intel-dental spacesonthis face-wheel. y

s is a sliding-plate in the hub of the tumbler, having a tooth,`s', which is capable of being engaged in any one of the interdent-al spaces, according to the choice of the. party who determines the permutation arrangement.

The slide-plate s incloses the stem It, and may be slipped back for a change in the arrangement when it is removed from the stem, but the latter prevents its shifting when it is in working position ou the stem.

The slide is capable of longitudinal adjustment in the hub, and its purposev is to secure the pins t t' on each side et' the hub, in any determinate position at which they may be placed, so as to have the proper action in the process ot' setting the tumblers according to a given permutation arrangement.

The hub w, when the tooth s is withdrawn from engagement with the cogs of the tumbler-wheel, is capa-ble ot' .being slipped around inside of the yweb of the wheel 11, and, when the desired circular position is attained, the plate s is slipped so that the tooth s enters between two of the cogs, and, the wheel being placed on the stem It, the adjustment is secure.Y

The pin t is fixed on one side ot' the hub, and receives the impulse of a pin on the face ot' the next previous tumbler in'the series.

The pin tis on an annular plate, u, on the face of the tumbler, and has a certain degree ot' play in acircular path, limited by the pin w'. This is to allow it to slip a little on one side or the other, in case the tumblers are set in consecutive numbers, which brings all the pins t' into lille, and therefore renders it neccssary that the pins t shall 'give way a little.

Operation.

I will now'describe the operation of opening one lock. The two (or more) locks being similar in eon` struction and coincidently operatable, ifdesirethadeas to arrange the tumblers in order, in the manner falniliar to those acquainted with this branch of mechanism. This having been done, the knob G is tnrn'ed back a little, in order to bring the notch in the guard-plate into positionfor thefence to fall into it, the rotation of the knob being continued. A pin, k, on the wheel J comes beneath the dog S and lifts it, so that it pushesagainst the hub of the fence M, thereby moving back the arm N and releasing the fence from its engage.- ment with the point my. The fence now falls into the gates ot the plate L and the tumblers p. The rotar. tion of the knob is still continued, the guard-plate L being movedby the intervention of the gear-wheels.

The fence is now in the fate and the motion ofthe wheel L is communicated by the fence M to the arm N, whose stud lV' acts in a notch of the bolt and pushes back the latter. 'lhis completes the unlocking, and the parts rest in this position till it is to be locked.

`To shoot the bolt, the knob is turned-in the reverse direction, when the cam T on the wheel J presses against the pin V on the bolt B, and pushes out the latter. The pin k now comes beneath the dog S, and

the latter pushes forward'the fence. The motion ot' the krrob being continued, the slanting side vof the gate comes beneath the nose of the dog and liftsy it out of the gate. rlhe nose ot' the dog now rides upon the rim ot' the plate L, and, as soon as the pinA k has passed the dog, the spring u comes into effect, and the fence is drawn back into the position shown in the lower lock, lig. 1. The knob is now rotated a few times, to dest-roy the arrangement of the tumblers, and the devicelis considered locked.

Itis probable that the lock will be most frequently made as a combined lock, two or more sets of works in one box.

I do not limit myself to any particular application of the device, whether the locks being combined in one box or placed in separate cases.

I am aware that locks have been made with multiple bolts, which are shot simultaneously by a single motion ofthe key, but in these cases the mechanism by which the bolts are retained is common to all. I do not c all. such double'looksf7 because the lockingpart is single, and the multiple feature only belongs t0 the bolts. vI therefore use the term double lock' .to mean two looks in one ease, each having its own arrangement of devices for holding the bolt in position. The expression two (or more) locks sigoites that the looks are separated, that is, not in one case.

Claims.

What I claim as new isl. A combination of two or more locks, ora double look, whose bolts are operated simultaneously by a single motion of a common spindle.

2. A combination of a single spindle, or dial and spindle, and two or more locks, or a double lock, operated thereby unitedly or either separately.

3. The fence M,'hinged to a moving arm, and so the spline-wheels E 'Pfand upper and lower wheels F G, forming an arrangement by whichv either of the looks may be operated at will.

L. H. MILLER.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. ADAMS, WM. 1). MILLER, Jr.

arranged as to be held aloft by a stationary hook` 5. 'lhe spindle D, with a longitudinal adjustment, 

